Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, ended its 2023 fiscal year with NTD 32.4 billion (963 million euros) in consolidated sales in Taiwan, thus below its expectations due to the challenges of the 2023 business year. “The business development in 2023 reflected the overall economic environment. To tap future long-term potential, Bosch will continue to develop local expertise in Taiwan, especially in strategic growth areas such as AIoT and sustainable technology,” said Andreas Schmidt, chairman and managing director of Bosch in Taiwan. The number of associates employed at Bosch in Taiwan stood around 540 as of December 31, 2023, on par with the level of last year.
For the current business year, Bosch Taiwan still expects moderate global economic growth. “While we expect a challenging year also in Taiwan due to the current situation, we remain committed to the local market and its longstanding potential,” said Schmidt.
Development of Bosch business sectors
Bosch’s Mobility business sector continued to be the biggest contributor to sales of Bosch in Taiwan in 2023. Road safety is one of the pressing issues in Taiwan. In line with its long-term endeavor to safeguard the safety of road users, Bosch continued to introduce active safety systems for two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles in Taiwan. Last year, the first car model embedded with Bosch’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) of a Taiwanese brand was launched. For two-wheelers, Bosch acquired projects for motorcycle stability control (MSC) systems, while sustaining market leadership of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) in 2023. Building on hardware excellence, Bosch has spearheaded into introducing software and service innovations for electromobility in Taiwan, such as electric vehicle roaming charging service, and battery in the cloud solution that optimizes performance and lifetime of batteries in electric vehicles. Bosch reported growth across its mobility aftermarket portfolio from batteries, filters, rotating machines to advanced driver assistance systems. Recognizing the potential of the two-wheeler sector, the mobility aftermarket division further launched the Li-Ion battery for this market. The division remained dedicated to growing its expertise in products, services, and advanced mobility technology while deepening collaborations with local workshops and customers. Laptops continued to be a main source of growth in sensor technology to Bosch Taiwan, among the expanding demand for diverse smart devices. Last year, Bosch introduced BMP585, a compact, liquid-resistant, energy-efficient barometric pressure sensor, to cater to the requirements of a stretched variety of wearables, hearables, industrial applications, or smart home appliance applications. Moreover, the company is looking to unlock the potential of smart devices, with the fully customizable BHI360, a programmable IMU-based sensor system combining a gyroscope and an accelerometer.
The Industrial Technology business sector in Taiwan reflected the overall development of the respective industries last year. Flexible Transport System (FTS) providing flexibility in design and assembly was one of the main sales drivers. In recent years, Bosch has seen a significant rise in inquiries of energy-efficient industrial products owing to the increasing need for production with reduced carbon footprints. Bosch Rexroth Taiwan, a subsidiary of the Bosch Group, has strived to provide pioneering energy-efficient smart machinery products to meet the demand driven by global supply chain requirements. Take CytroPac, the Industry-4.0-ready, compact hydraulic power unit, as an example. The hydraulic power unit is an innovative solution with an integrated frequency converter that automatically controls the motor speed according to the current demand. Compared with constant power units, this reduces the energy requirement by 30 to 80%, depending on the cycle characteristics, while the power output remains unchanged.
The development of the Consumer Goods business sector was on par with the market development. In 2023, the bundle of washing machines and heat pump dryers was one of the main sales drivers of Bosch Home Appliances in Taiwan. With the innovative AutoDry and Heat Pump technology, Bosch heat pump dryers automatically stop when optimum drying is reached. The technology can protect laundry from over-drying, shrinking, or being exposed to unnecessarily high temperatures that may damage fabrics, providing a value-add, especially during rainy seasons in Taiwan. For Bosch Power Tools, GBH 187-LI one chuck for professional users was one of the sales drivers last year. The compact and affordable 2kg cordless hammer GBH 187-LI Professional is an efficiency champion when it comes to drilling speed and number of holes per battery charge due to its brushless motor and optimized mechanism. In addition to its notable performance, its KickBack Control and Vibration Control functions further offered enhanced safety to professional users.
In building technologies, the Energy and Building Technology business sector continued to acquire security systems projects from the semiconductors industry and surveillance systems for the government sector. As demand from the industry rose, the requirement for security cameras embedded with intelligent video analytics solutions remained strong. In addition, Bosch’s IP cameras featuring dual visible and thermal imaging capabilities are well suited for extreme environments and adverse weather conditions and were therefore adopted for mission-critical applications for the public sector in Taiwan.
Moving the AIoT technology forward
The worldwide market size of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) was valued at over USD 9 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 20 percent between 2023 and 2032, according to Global Market Insights. In Taiwan, Bosch has been dedicated to facilitating AIoT applications with its sensor technology and connected products.
Over the past 15 years, as a market leader of MEMS sensors, Bosch Taiwan has played a key role in the growing market of smart devices. “In line with the advancement of AIoT technology, Bosch has launched MEMS sensors that are fit for AIoT applications,” said Schmidt. From wearables, hearables, laptops, and other smart devices in between, Bosch has worked with local customers in Taiwan to support the development of innovative applications that are “Invented for life.”
Connected industrial products by Bosch Rexroth have also entered the arena of smart machinery in Taiwan, making production lines more energy-efficient. Examples can even be found within conventional industries, such as the printing industry. Software innovation by Bosch Rexroth has further pushed the trend forward. With CtrlX AUTOMATION, a complete automation solution surmounting the classic boundaries between machine controls, the IT world, and the Internet of Things, data visualization is enabled for production to be even more efficient.
To end users, the introduction of Serie 8 kitchen appliances has allowed users to set their appliances comfortably with their fingertips, giving them full control over their dishes at all times with ease. Power tools are the lifeline in the work of professional users. Bosch power tool users can now personalize the set-ups of their tools to meet the requirements of the projects and their personal preferences with BeConnected, an app that keeps all the important information users need about their Bosch professional power tools one tap away. Moreover, in the BeConnected app, the easy-to-read HMI displays the battery level and allows users to choose between the automatic mode and the predefined favorite mode.
Driving sustainable transformation
Sustainability is the backbone of the success of Bosch in Taiwan and characterizes its local activities. In this vein, the company has seized opportunities to expand its footprints in sustainable technology and deepen its engagement in social betterment. As a long-term facilitator of electromobility, Bosch has pooled its cross-disciplinary efforts to push the trend forward. In 2023, Bosch Power Tools officially became a partnered brand of the low carbon subsidy scheme for motorcycle shops by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The subsidy scheme aimed at incentivizing the purchase of motorcycle maintenance and diagnosis tools for electric scooters, not only reducing the workload of users but also helping motorbike repairers to transform and upgrade.
“To Bosch, the assumption of social responsibility is paramount. Through various initiatives, Bosch aimed to solidify partnerships with the local community in Taiwan,” said Schmidt. Kicked off in 2013, Bosch celebrated the 10th anniversary of its social caring program in Taiwan with a continued commitment to promoting voluntary service last year. By offering its associates an eight-hour volunteer leave per year and a range of volunteer opportunities across key areas, Bosch Taiwan was set to make the first steps of volunteering easier for its associates. In addition, Bosch Home Appliance, partnering with World Vision Taiwan, initiated the Bosch Kitchen project, aiming to encourage teenagers in the Daguan indigenous community in Heping District in Taichung, to outsize their potential. Since 2022, Bosch Home Appliance has organized the cooking experience lessons and cross-cultural exchange activities to help the community teenagers to explore themselves and to gain confidence.
Bosch Group: outlook for 2024 and strategic course
The Bosch Group increased its sales and earnings in 2023 and is successfully implementing its growth strategy despite a difficult environment. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, said: “In the 2023 business year, we achieved our financial targets and strengthened our market position in a number of business areas, from semiconductors to integrated building systems.” The company increased its sales by 3.8 percent compared to the previous year to 91.6 billion euros despite unfavorable economic and market conditions. At 5.3 percent, the EBIT margin from operations was 1 percentage point higher than the previous year. It was therefore higher than expected, but still lower than the target margin of at least 7 percent required over the long term. Bosch wants to achieve this by 2026. In the first quarter of 2024, sales were down by more than 0.8 percent year on year; after adjusting for exchange-rate effects, this amounts to an increase of 2.7 percent. However, the company expects that it will be difficult to increase the EBIT margin from operations compared to the previous year. In addition to the subdued market environment and the expected further increase in upfront investments in areas of strategic importance, restructuring and process improvements will also have a negative impact at first, with their positive effect coming only after a delay. Even if the economic and social environment remains demanding, Bosch aims to rank among the top three suppliers in its key markets in all regions of the world. “We’re pursuing innovations, partnerships, and acquisitions to ensure we grow as our industries transform – despite economic headwinds,” Hartung said.
In its core mobility business, for example, Bosch is systematically driving forward strategic decisions for future growth. This year alone, it is launching some 30 production projects for electric vehicles. In the growth area of hydrogen, Bosch has reaffirmed its business expectations: by 2030, its sales with hydrogen technology could reach 5 billion euros. Bosch is also systematically exploiting growth opportunities in the area of heating technology. Although the heat-pump market stagnated across Europe in 2023, Bosch was able to grow its business by almost 50 percent. In the years ahead, Bosch will continue to grow significantly faster than the market in this segment. However, there could be a slight improvement in the consumer goods markets after two years of consumer restraint. Bosch expect its own business to stabilize, to which innovations as well as the expansion of its international footprint should contribute. Overall, climate action continues to play a central role for Bosch. In Hartung’s view, it offers great opportunities for growth, even if markets such as electromobility are not developing as fast as expected. Nonetheless, Bosch is continuing to make heavy upfront investments in technologies for a carbon-neutral future, in order to help shape this transformation from the top. “There is pressure to cut subsidies for CO2-efficient technologies. But climate action requires sustained investment – from government, from companies, and from each and every one of us,” Hartung said.